Scotland’s Carbon Trust last week released a report on upgrading its energy system. Among the recommendations are development of energy storage and district heating approaches that use smart meters aimed at encouraging customer control of energy usage and cost, according to Metering & Smart Energy.

The five actions recommended by the carbon trust are to continue development in the offshore wind, wave and tidal areas; innovate in energy storage; continue development of new technology and business models; develop advanced energy management software for buildings, home and transportation and make energy usage and costs “more tangible” to end users.

The National reports that in advance of a late summer European North Sea Energy Alliance meeting, Dr. Ben Kroposki of the U.S. National Renewable Energy Alliance said that Scotland has the potential to be a tremendous green energy nation. The question is the political will to make the changes. Ireland and Denmark can be an energy model for the nation, according to Kroposki.